Material forming machines play a significant role in modern industry and include, for example, machines which stamp, roll, form, cut and extrude metal, to name a few. One type of machine, and the type to which the present invention is directed, receives an elongate strip of material at an entryway and advances the strip of material progressively through the machine against longitudinally positioned forming elements to configure longitudinal margins of the strip into desired useful cross-sections, or profiles. After formation, the strip is discharged at an exit location.
Existing material forming machines typically have an enclosed frame with a plurality of frame members extending around and defining a forming region with an entryway and an exit. Material being formed may extend into the entryway and out of the exit but it cannot extend unobstructed to the side of the forming region. The frame supports a drive assembly for advancing the strip of material in a downstream direction from the entrance to the exit. The drive assembly is coupled to one or more pairs of co-acting rollers centrally located along the pathway of the strip. Also in existing material forming machines it is known to provide a plurality of forming rollers disposed along the pathway of the strip to configure one or both margins into a desired profile. This is accomplished by progressively bending the margins into a particular shape. After formation, the strip is discharged at an exit location, and a shear may be positioned at the exit to cut preformed material into selected lengths.
A representative shear assembly is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,687 issued Apr. 21, 1998 to Meyer et al. The '687 patent has been assigned to New Tech Machinery Corp. of Denver, Colo., the assignee of the present invention. The strips of material that are fed into the machine may either be at discrete lengths or, as is more typically the case, a continuous feed is provided from a coil, such as a coil of metal to be formed. The formed strip is then cut into usable lengths at the exit location or downstream end of the machine. Specific examples of such apparatus include commercial/residential roof panel forming machines, gutter forming machines, siding panel forming machines and soffit panel forming machines.
The plurality of forming rollers are sometimes independently mounted to the framework at selected locations, but another technique involves grouping forming elements together as forming station sets along the pathway of the strip. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,259 issued Jun. 20, 1995 to Coben et al., also assigned to New Tech, a forming machine is disclosed for bending strips wherein an elongated rail structure is removably secured within the interior of the framework of the machine and its removable out, for example, the one entrance or exit of the framework. The rail structure is mounted at discrete mounting locations that are spaced laterally of the drive mechanism, and a plurality of forming elements are disposed on the rail structure to define at least two longitudinally spaced forming stations. The rail structure is removable from the framework without detaching the forming stations. Alternative sets of rail structures can then be interchangeably mounted in the framework as forming sets to allow formation of different profiles without the need to individually change each forming station. Representative forming machines which incorporate the use of such features are available from New Tech Machinery under the designations “SSP MultiPro”, “SSH MultiPro”, “SSR MultiPro Jr.”, “5VC 5V Crimp” and “FWM Flush Wall”.
While forming machines have been quite useful and effective in fabricating metal strips into shaped members, such as panels and gutters, in the past such machines were only able to form a single profile so that the fabricator would have to require separate machines for each profile desired to be configured, or for each change of dimensions within a given profile. Alternatively, the entire set of forming elements would need to be replaced by individually detaching each forming element or, in certain cases, by replacing a forming station box comprising a set of forming rollers. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,722 issued Mar. 7, 1995 to Meyer, an apparatus for forming profiles on strip materials is disclosed wherein a standard profile can be formed of two different sizes or physical dimensions. The machine shown in the '722 patent utilizes rollers that may be positioned toward and apart from one another for selected spacing between the two relative positions, thereby to selectively vary the profile formed.
A further advancement in the art of material forming machines is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,616 issued Aug. 10, 2004 to Cunningham et al., also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent describes a forming machine wherein greater flexibility of fabrication is achieved because the machine is constructed to accommodate a variety of different sets of metal forming stations mounted as sets on rail structures, or support beams, so that the different sets may be easily interchanged to allow fabrication of different panel profiles. As such, an easily adjustable forming machine is described for varying profile dimensions, such as profile height and profile separation, with a minimum of downtime for the machine during a changeover.
While forming machines have been quite useful and effective in fabricating metal strips into shaped members, such as roof panels and gutters, in the past such machines were only able to handle rectangular strips due to the enclosed frame and fixed guides of traditional machines. Thus, traditional forming machines cannot easily facilitate forming edge profiles on tapered panels, such as tapered roof panels. Tapered roof panels are used to form cone shaped or frustoconical roof portions. Tapered panels are also used to follow curved roof contours. The tapered panels are aligned vertically from the base of the cone to the top. The necessary edge profiles of a tapered panel may be formed with a sheet metal brake. However, forming multiple tapered panels with a brake is time consuming, labor intensive, and prone to user error.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cost effective and versatile tapered panel forming machine that is capable of forming edge profiles on tapered panels.